Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting First time processing my own

So I chose to skip the processor and give it a go myself this time. I kept it pretty basic, just cutting out the back straps and tenderloins for steaks and then everything else I used for hamburger meat.

I'll admit to doing a rushed/poor job getting the meat off the deer. It was about 35 degrees outside so I cut the shoulders and hindquarters off, trimmed some off the neck and called it good. I knew I was leaving meat on the ribs and whatnot but wasn't sweating it.

The wife doesn't really like deer meat, so I had a wild idea of mixing in some beef brisket at about a 60/40 ratio... Who knows it may be terrible but it could be the best thing ever!

Let the deer sit on ice changing out the water for three days:







My setup in the carport



Got the brisket sliced up, then cubed it keeping some of the fat but trimming off the really hard stuff.







Cubed up the deer



Got tired and put the meat up in the fridge to sit over night and tackled the grinding today.

Did the grinding this afternoon, it went pretty good was impressed with the new grinder.




Vac sealed the hambuger mix up in 2lb and 4lb bags


All in all ended up with 33lbs of meat



great way to spend a few hours.

Satisfying isn't it? Mix any beef fat?

Just the fat that was in the beef brisket.

I've always done my own (with one exception where a friend did it for me) since I was a kid. figured out pretty quickly that I can buy a grinder and a smoker for what it would cost me a year having a butcher do it. plus I know I'm getting my own stuff back. it's satisfying to do it yourself, and you learn very quickly the little things that make it easier, more flavorful etc.

also, one thing I never do is add beef or pork fat while I grind. might as well put a timer on it when you do. I straight grind it and add a little breakfast sausage when I cook it if desired (burgers on the grill). I've noticed the meat doesn't last as long in the freezer with fat added right off the bat. YMMV

adding beef fat does not effect how long you freeze deer.i always add it to my burger.processing my own meat is just part of hunting season and a part i really enjoy doing.

I agree, you can freeze it however long you want, but it won't be near as good.

For me the processing at the end of a successful deer hunt is a continuation of the fun. Hoping to tackle a Moose this fall (might change my idea of fun)!

BTW, no beef in ground venison for me. Only fatback in the breakfast sausage for the sizzle! Highly recommend "Slice of the Wild" for recipes that your wife might enjoy.

Matt, haven't paid anyone to process deer meat in years. Much more satisfying to do it myself. I find pork fat works well too. We make a lot of sausage and always mix in pork butt at about a 1 to 1 ratio. Enjoy the end result. Well done.
Rob

Good on you for "rolling your own", I think making meat and doing it right is a special thing besides the savings. It helps connect me to what I do a lot more than stopping by the processor and dropping one off. As my nephew started deer hunting we always butchered our deer together and he loves all of it.

The last deer we did after taking the backstraps and tenders out we ground 43 lbs of pure burger. We made 1/2 of that into sausage and the best part of that is making a big pan of biscuits and testing each batch.

Looks like you have the same grinder that I have-does a great job.

This video is about perfect for getting started cleaning the meat off the deer. I found it very useful, but I'm sure a lot of you will not need it.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H2UsVd9d8vI

Matt,since you already cube the meat next time consider canning some. Tenderizes the toughest meat cuts and gives you many more options for usage.

I have never had one processed. Every deer I have ever killed since the 50s has been butchered by my own hand.

I always use pork shoulder for the fat to make burger. Vacuum seal units are really great and vacuum sealed meat fat added or not lasts just as long as any once frozen.

I have discovered that smoking venison whole muscles saves time and produces some really fine eating. I just used Hogh Mountain Mesquite jerky cure. Just separate the muscles of the ham, sprinkle on the High Mountain liberally, put it in a zip lock with the air squeezed out and then into the fridge for 2-3 days. 4 hours at 210 degrees for small muscles like the eye of round and 10-12 hours for big muscles like the top and bottom round. Comes out tender and moist. The shoulder is maybe even better. The long slow cook in the smoker makes them really tender. Vacuum pack them and into the freezer. Much better than the best jerky I have ever made. A good digital temperature controlled smoker that's decently insulated makes this super easy.

We been doing our own for 20 years. I use pork cushion or pork butt if I cant find pork trimmings. We use vac pack for steaks , roasts and loins butvwe went to 1lb bags for ground. I was a little lery about the bags but i havent had any freezer burn yet and some was in the freezer for just shy of a year. I make and stuff my sausages in smaller batches of about 5 lbs as I need it. I doubt I would ever use a processor again. Always seemed to be some sort of headache. All of them did a nice job but usually the headache was them getting it done before we left town to head home.

I agree. The fat oxidizes (goes rancid) in about 6 months give or take. Some people notice the rancid taste more than others and many probably eat all their venison fast enough it is not a problem.

i add 2lbs of beef fat to lbs of deer the dump a whole can of blazin burger seasoning over it and grind. i'm eating patties that were done november 2014 that were vacuum sealed. they taste the same as when i sealed them.i don't like ground deer with nothing added.

I usually cut up my Whitetails and Pronghorns.
I start with removing the backstraps and tenderloins, then removing the front and hind quarters.

I do roasts with the front quarters, steaks with the hinds, and remove all other meat to be used as chicken fry meat and/or dog food. I don't fool with burger on these critters. They are usually tender enough to not need grinding up into hamburger.

Removing membranes and silverskin before freezing is important, IMO. It usually takes my wife and I 5-6 hours from starting skinning until the last package is in the freezer, but the final result is well worth the effort.

This ^^^^^

I've been doing my own since I was a kid. I've paid to have a few done but only if its warm and I don't have time to do it. As Bighorn posted, I remove everything that isn't meat. Deer fat is horrible. Remove all the fat, connecting tissue, and 'silverskin' and you'll end up with lean meat. For the burger, you'll need to add some fat to get it to stick together when making deer burgers. I normally use pork fat mixed with my burger. The last few years, I've been turning alot of the burger into sausage. As daividlea pointed out, it don't suck with biscuits.

Vacuum sealing is also the way to go. We used to wrap meat in freezer bags but it doesn't last long enough if you shoot 2-3 a year. I've always liked cutting up whatever I kill. It is an extension of the hunt.

The thighs make terrific steaks, I separate the muscle groups and slice them. The one muscle that connect to the major tendon gets ground.